Vancouver Whitecaps' time to get back on track

Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun columnist09.14.2012

Kenny Miller believes the Whitecaps are simply lacking a little confidence at the moment. The veteran says the team must understand it is still in a very good situation going into the last six games of the season.

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DALLAS — The worst thing about the Vancouver Whitecaps is their timing. They should have had this summer’s slump at the start of the season and last spring’s hot start now.

Given the dismal tumult of 2011, fans and players would have been elated with the progress that order represented. There would be momentum and confidence heading into the game-of-the-season here Saturday against FC Dallas (5:30 p.m., Sportsnet Pacific, Team 1040), where a victory almost guarantees the Whitecaps a playoff berth in their second Major League Soccer season.

Would anyone have imagined that a year ago when the Whitecaps went three months between wins? Playoffs? A win-and-in game in September?

“We’d have been alright with that,” coach Martin Rennie said Thursday. “But it’s how we got here.”

Exactly.

It is the trajectory of the journey that worries us, not the Whitecaps’ current location in fifth place of the Western Conference standings, four points up on Dallas with six games remaining.

Vancouver not only has a game in-hand, but four of its final five are at BC Place Stadium – three of those against teams praying for miraculous intervention to make the playoffs.

Unfortunately, 0-0 is not a winning score. The Whitecaps have only one goal during their four-game losing streak and have lost six straight away from home. Injuries, suspensions and some risky mid-season roster changes unsettled the team and muddied roles.

Even at 10-11-7, the Whitecaps’ second season must still be regarded as a success to this point. But, as Rennie said, it’s all about how they arrived here.

When Dallas visited Vancouver one month ago, a win would have pushed the Whitecaps 14 points clear in the playoff race. But a ragged 2-1 loss started the Whitecaps down this slope. If they lose Saturday, their playoff margin is a single point.

“The great teams is never so much up and down,” the Whitecaps’ 35-year-old South Korean defender, Y.P. Lee, said before the team travelled Friday to Dallas. “Actually, we needed to know we are not top team yet. This (slump) is normal. Any team, any team in the world, even the best team, will have during the season dangerous situations two or three times. Even Barcelona. The different thing is when big clubs meet difficult situation, they can solve it. Our case, the last two months we are not good enough to find a way through the situation. But we are learning.

“The most important thing, I think, is the individual mentality. You cannot be thinking about the negative. This year is much better than last year. Suddenly, we are not satisfied anymore. We need to realize where we were last season and where we are this season, and keep thinking positively.”

In that regard, the break in the schedule since the Whitecaps were easily beaten by the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 on Sept. 1 should help Vancouver.

Injured players, like Lee, are healthy. No one is suspended. The atmosphere this week, as always around Rennie, has been positive.

But the team has to find a way to score. Rather, it must find ways to create scoring chances. For all but the first half of a 2-0 loss in Seattle last month, the Whitecaps’ attack has looked inert, bereft of creativity.

The striker, whether it be the young, speedy Darren Mattocks or the experienced, not-so-speedy Kenny Miller, has had little support. Halfbacks Barry Robson, Camilo and Dane Richards have offered almost nothing offensively.

Camilo, the Brazilian who may be the only Whitecap with the creativity to replace Davide Chiumiento, sold two months ago to Zurich, has been frustratingly ineffective as a right-footed player on left wing. Camilo should probably play in the middle behind Mattocks, but that would displace Robson, the star recruit who may lack the pace to play outside.

“For me, I’ve been up top on my own a long time,” Mattocks said. “That’s really tough but that’s something I’m capable of doing. But at this level, you’re always going to need help. You’re always going to need your midfielders.

“I mean, if I say Chiumiento’s not been missed, I’d be lying. I think he’s definitely been missed. But I think we have guys who can do just as well.”

Mattocks said it’s encouraging that Rennie finally has a full squad to select from and that team chemistry continues to reform after July’s roster changes, which included the trade of forwards Sebastien Le Toux and Eric Hassli.

“Every season I’ve ever coached, I’ve had a spell like this,” Rennie said. “The most important thing is to stay positive and stay together and don’t get too disappointed about losing a game or two. In the end, it has always worked out. That’s something I hold on to and get through to the players. And the players that we’ve got, a lot of them are experienced players. There’s no way they’ve been through their careers without having disappointments they’ve had to bounce back from. It makes you stronger and it’s an important part of growing.”

It’s a sign of growth that the Whitecaps have such a meaningful game in mid-September. But, for the wrong reasons, it means a lot more now than anyone would have guessed a short time ago.

It would be alarmist to call this is a must-win. But the Whitecaps must play better. They need more cohesiveness and confidence than they’ve shown the last month. They can’t just hang on from the opening whistle and play another road game without threatening the opposition goal. Or what’s the point of backing into the post-season in fifth place – likely with a one-and-done single road playoff game? Vancouver has one away win in 11 games since April. A goal here would be nice. Two would be spectacular.

“We’ve lost these four games; I’ve never lost four (consecutive) games in my career,” Miller said. “Football’s a team game. When you’re lacking in confidence as a team, that affects everybody. The team needs to understand we’re still in a very good situation going into these last six games. It’s very much in our own hands.

“It’s about approaching these last six games like they did the first six games this year, going out and playing with confidence that we can go win games and create chances and score goals. We’re a good team. We’ve just got to start believing that a little more.”

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Vancouver Whitecaps' time to get back on track

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